Missing woman farmer leader’s body parts found in Uttar Pradesh’s Shravasti

Police superintendent Rahul Bhati said the accused, Suraj Verma, was taken into custody after the farmer leader’s husband named him as a suspect

Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Shravasti recovered parts of a 25-year-old woman farmer leader’s body in a forest on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after she went missing, investigators said on Thursday.

The farmer leader went missing on February 17. (Shutterstock)

A police officer said Anchal Mishra, a mother of two, was the district president of the women’s wing of a non-political farmers’ union. She went missing on February 17 after leaving home to attend a meeting in Bhinga. Her husband, Santosh Mishra, lodged a missing persons complaint on February 19.

The investigators traced the last location of her mobile phone to the forest in the Kakardari range and found her skull, jawbone, and spine. Her clothes and shoes were discovered some distance away.

Police superintendent Rahul Bhati said the accused, Suraj Verma, was taken into custody after Santosh Mishra named him as a suspect. Verma allegedly confessed to killing Anchal Mishra. Based on his interrogation, the police recovered the remains.

Police said Anchal Mishra and Verma had been in contact for three to four months and were allegedly in a relationship. Bhati said Verma claimed Anchal Mishra had been demanding money and allegedly threatening to lodge a police station complaint if he refused, which he described as blackmail.

“On February 17, Verma took her to the forest and strangled her. He then hid the body there,” Bhati said. Investigators believe wild animals left only skeletal remains of her body. They said Verma has a criminal history and faces seven cases.